Justice and Prejudice
by DovahFlynn
Summary: John Stone is trying to be one of the first human C-Sec officers. The only problem is, it's just two months after the First Contact war and most of the aliens on the Citadel still have their own opinions on humans. Determined to succeed, John must fight crime and his colleagues just to get through the academy.
1. Chapter 1-Star Bound

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Mass Effect, though I wish I did.**

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John lay in the cold hull of a turian controlled transport ship. He was right at the bottom, in the hold, low enough to stay cold yet low enough to feel the heat of ripping through space. A quick jolt awoke him, followed by sudden motion sickness making him throw up on his food stores. That was just what he needed. Looks like he would be starved for today until he could buy some human friendly food; he couldn't remember the exact name for it: am - dex - whatever.

Something about the cold steel of a ship was inviting to him. It all added to that little electric buzz he felt along his journey, though it was strange that it was his first time on a ship.

As he wiped the few chunks left from the corner from his mouth a turian strode up to him and looked down on John with what looked like disgust. It was hard to tell from their blank, scaly faces. "We're coming up on the Citadel." John just nodded, still too sick to speak in fear he would throw up again. Of course he treated this as a sign of disrespect."You should show more respect human," he said, obviously annoyed. "First we let your kind live, then we give you free passage on our ship. All to see if a weak human can get through C-Sec Academy."

John looked the turian in the eye, a nerving experience for any human because of that cold, lifeless stare. "Last time I checked, it was your captain that gave me free passage." John stood up, still inches below the turian. Most turians had some respect for humans that held their ground, others found it a false threat. "And I don't care about he war that happened two months ago, I wasn't there." John looked around the hold. "last time I checked, we were still holding out pretty good before the asari dragged your butts out of the fire."

"And last time I checked, Stone, some of us believe that humans have a lot of potential." Both John and the turian stood straight as the captain walked down the creaking metal staircase. "Now I know by human terms you are still young. By eighteen you would of been in the military for three years."

"Sorry, Captain, I jus-" It amused John to see him reduced to a child with a low murmur.

"Get back to engineering Ukinia, I have no need for you to be harrasing our passengers," The captain asserted his authority with a certain posture John did not understand and the other turian stormed off mumbling something the translators couldn't pick up. Takas shook his head and walked over to John. "We'll be docking in an hour." He turned to walk away but John held out a hand, making him stop.

"Sir, I'm sorry," he said, trying his best to try and repair the situation.

Takas nodded and walked up the stairs. "Mops are in the closet."

John smirked and walked over to the closet, proceeding to clean the floor where he threw up to the rhythm of the humming engines. He thought of what was to come; the challenges it posed. It was one of the first encounters with a turian and he was already in their bad books, just imagining how he was to get through a whole academy of them was unthinkable. Like Takas said though, some turians saw the potential in humanity. But how many were some?

He rang the mop off and was partially satisfied with the job he did. It still reeked, but what else could he do? He couldn't clean the mattress however and figured it would be a good idea not to sleep before they reached the Citadel; a human smelling of puke would be treated with even less respect than a normal-smelling human.

Even the thought of the Citadel brought back the images he saw on the vids. It was serene, tranquil and perfect. How a whole army of officers was required to protect the place, he didn't know, only that it paid well and was an exciting new chapter in his young life. Two years in the academy would bring him to 20, and that was if he even graduated - if he didn't it would be another two years and so on and so forth until he finally got through. And he was going to get through.

It couldn't be that hard, after all what crime could be on the Citadel?

The docking message was brought through the comms. Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes until he changed his life forever. He was sat upon a few stacked crates feeling slightly claustrophobic Maybe it was all the thinking he was doing about the Citadel. Such a large place. He might go for a walk along the Presidium, or club it out in the Wards; the space station was his oyster.

He had to get out of the cargo room and see it for himself. He did get a few hard stares from the other turians on the ship and it didn't bother John in the slightest. He stopped at what looked like a port observation deck - it was hard to read since it was all in turian. One press of the opening button was all it took to captivate him. Though it was a small window, the beauty of the Citadel was apparent.

A brilliant station of silver floated through a vast sea of purple and blue. All the lights in perfect patterns just like a circuitboard. And, like a circuitboard, energy was carried through all of those streets by both the people and the shuttles.

Takas snuck up behind John and startled him slightly when he reached his side. "Beautiful, isn't it." It was a statement rather than a question.  
"Yeah," was all John managed to say, still partially shocked.

"I think you'd be surprised when you get down there." John just cast him a curious look. "It's not as peaceful as you might think. There are criminals here just like everywhere else in the galaxy. But I couldn't think of a better place for the girls' last voyage."

"She's not going to be in service any more?" John asked, slightly surprised.

Takas felt a rain of sadness wash over him. "The old girl isn't in good shape. It would even take a quarian a good few years to repair her." Takas dipped his head and John saw his pain. "Shame really, the old girl's been in my family for generations."

"Sorry to change the subject, but what is a quarian?"

"It's okay, and I'm sure you'll meet a few whilst on the Citadel. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get to the bridge for clearance " After Takas left, John just kept staring out of the window, ready to face the wonders of the Citadel and maybe he would even meet a quarian along the way. Another adventure he supposed.

John spent the next ten minutes of travel time gazing out of the small window, inspecting the Citadel in more detail as he drew closer and closer to his new home. He was drawn off when the ear-wrenching squeak of the comm system came online. "Men as you are all aware this is the girl's last voyage. She will be laid to rest in the next ten minutes and I would like to thank all of you for serving on her. Drinks are on me." John could hear the cheers even trough the door and chuckled slightly. Through all the rumours he was told about turians they weren't that much different from humans.

Drinking seemed to be one of the things that brought all the species of the galaxy on to a level thinking field. Ten minutes. That was all it would be before he set foot on the Citadel. A list of important to non-important things then popped into his mind. Was his translator going to work? How much will food cost? Should he watch a film when he gets there? Will he meet a quarian?

Too many questions and no answers. He would get them though, he was determined to. As he tried to make sense of the thoughts the entire ship shook and another cheer rang out through the hollow walls and now empty hall ways. The ship had docked and now it was time for him to start his new life.

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**A/N: **Well that was the first chapter. I wanted to make this fic because I feel the need to fill in a few things in mass effect history and really try and tackle what humans would have faced straight off the bat as they joined an inset galactic community that has been around for thousands of years.

It may seem lacking now, but this chapter is more of an introduction. Crime and the sorts will be addressed over time. This _is_ following the story of one character and his life, wouldn't make much sense if I slapped him right in the middle of it now, would it?

That is all.

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2-A Sketchy Entrance

John was the last one off the ship and now he stood at the airlock. He was there for two minutes before he pressed the button to open it. His hand gently felt the heat before the door opened and his expectations of a view delivered.

Though it was only a simple docking station to any body else on the Citadel, to John it was something else. At the side the ship was docked a large window showed the old grace and sharp edges of the old turian vessel and past it was an even closer look at the Citadel itself. The precise orange lines John saw from the observation deck of the ship were now an unfocused blur of lights and technology.

The flares of light cast growing lines of blue hexagons from the far away stars and dust clouds. Then from the natural beauty to the man-made attempts of beauty and serene tranquillity that lay on the other side of the docks. Lines and squares of advertisements flashed and wavered in a variety of different colours.

John sighed at the sight. Even light years away from Earth he could not escape the clutches of corporations trying to get his ID and contracts and to him, the slap-dash attempts of advertisements were an insult to the natural beauty of the Citadel.

He knew it was something to be suspected, but he had hoped for more from an inter-galactic space station full of the smartest species in the galaxy.

Though there were several doors that led to other places along the Wards, John was looking at the far end of the dock: the elevator that led to the C-Sec Academy. This was it.

He briskly walked to the other side of the dock whilst being cast strange looks by the other species that were walking around. They murmured and talked behind his back and at any other time he would of confronted them, but at that moment in time he had his mind set on getting to that door.

He stopped short at a desk that stood next to the elevator. It had a simple computer and a holo-keyboard and behind it was his first real sighting of an asari. She effortlessly moved her head from her paper work to her monitor and back again whilst keeping immense focus on what she was doing. Her smooth blue skin gave her the look of youth where usual desk jobs would do the opposite.

As John gazed at her she looked up to him with a raised brow. "Can I help you?" Her voice was the complete opposite of what she looked as it dragged with a certain weariness.

John snapped out of his trance. "Sorry. I'm John Stone."

The asari returned to her screen and John was left fiddling with hands in a nervous desperation. He head was suddenly itchy and the air around him seemed to heat up as the seconds passed excruciatingly slow. She looked back up with what seemed to be her usual blank face. "Ah, you're that human I've been hearing so much about," she said in her droning voice. She eyed him up and down, closely inspecting his strange form. "Hmm, I thought you'd be taller."

John could not tell whether or not it was a joke, so he just grinned instead of going the full mile. It seemed to be the wrong choice when her face didn't change at all. "So can I go in?" John asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yes, you are now registered into the system. Just use the lift to your right and they will take you down to the academy." She motioned towards the elevator with her free hand and John gave an accepting nod before walking to it.

He took a deep breath, then the door opened.

The next thing he knew, John was knocked off his feet and found himself lying on his back, a strange alien atop him. When he opened his eyes he was met by a big blue mask and a pair of soft white eyes behind them. He was then pushed back when the alien got up and bolted to the other side of the docks, quickly followed by two turians in standard blue C-Sec armour.

John tilted his head backwards to see where they were heading before rolling on to his stomach. He then saw the alien get cornered by the turians and it was soon lost between the two massive units of armour. He was ready to let his new colleagues deal with the criminal.

Then it screamed.

It sounded like one of distress, not resistance so John quickly got himself and ran over to the scene. As he got closer he could see the alien's arms flailing as the two turians tried to move closer. This wasn't an arrest.

He straightened his cap and tapped one of the turians on the shoulder. Both of them stopped and turned to face him, still making sure that the hooded alien behind them couldn't escape.

They both glared at him and growled with the secondary voice they seemed to have. John stood strong and ignored their presence, trying to see the alien behind them. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

The turian on the right closed the gap of vision and folded his arms. "Human, you're interrupting an investigation. Scram."

John matched the turian's expression. "And can I ask what she is being investigated for?"

The turian on the left then stepped up to John and shoved him. "You heard him, he said scram," the turian said cockily.

John looked at his shoulder and smirked, he knew he had the advantage. "In case you didn't notice, there is a C-Sec HQ behind us. Be a shame if you two were caught harassing this woman. And before you ask, I do have the authority to follow this line of inquiry." One of the turians narrowed his eyes, he had a fair idea of who the human was now.

The two turians looked at each other. They hand been caught stepping out of their bounds before and once again would get them suspended, or worse. They both nodded and let the woman be, though they did have one last thing to do before they left. The one on the right pushed past John and grabbed his shoulder. He leaned in close to John's ear. "Next time human you will be sorry, even if you are part of C-Sec."

The Turian then released his grip and took his lackey back to the elevator at the end of the docks. John didn't bother to give them the satisfaction of looking back so he just sighed and went up to the alien. She was unlike anything John had ever seen. Her entire face was covered by a light blue mask and topped with a red hood lined with two grey stripes that tracked throughout her suit. The had seemingly bendy legs and some natural curves.

She looked away and said something John couldn't understand. _Something had to get in the way, didn't it? _John thought to himself and then he realised that the alien seemed to be getting agitated as her voice was raised with her indistinguishable language and her advancing steps didn't help her put across a gentle image.

John finally decided to stop the stupid guessing game and put his hands up. "I'm sorry, I can't understand you. I think my translator is broken."

The alien sighed and hung her head in either embarrassment or frustration, John could not tell through the mask. "Ah, Keelah," she dragged and materialised her omni-tool. A few taps and she got rid of it. "Better?"

"Better, thank you," John said with a nod. He did not ask the alien any more questions as he was still looking at her strange figure, despite being taught not to stare by an asari not five minutes ago.

"Well... Thanks, I guess." The alien scratched her neck and went to walk off before a hand grabbed her arm.

"Wait... If you don't mind, I have a few questions."

"What?" She said, clearly annoyed.

"What are you?" This was met with a strange glare from her eyes so John tried to rephrase it. "I mean, I have never seen one of your species before."

She grabbed his hand and threw it off her arm. "If you must know, I'm a quarian. There you go, you can laugh now; call me names, whatever, I don't care."

John chuckled slightly, gaining the attention of the quarian. She was prepared for more ridicule, even if it did hurt. "Why would I do all of that? To me there is absolutely no point in all of that stuff. We're all part of the galaxy now no matter who or what we are."

The quarian folded her arms in speculation. "Really? Are you one of those crazy preachers that have been spreading around Citadel these past few months?"

"Me, ha... No I'm just another officer. And on that note, why were they after you?"

The quarian sighed again. "I came here on my pilgrimage a few weeks ago. The first time I leave the turian shelter to look at ships I get these two C-Sec bosh'tets walking up to me and accusing me of stealing. They took all of my credits for 'evidence' and now I'm stuck here."

Though it was a sad story to John, the quarian seemed unwavered. "I can try I get your money back if you want. I'll just explain the situation when I get inside." He was trying his best to at least try and cheer up the first quarian he had ever met.

"Hah! As a quarian I practically have no say in this, but a human would have even less."

"How so?"

"Well, as I have walked around the Citadel practically all of the people call your species names I would rather not say." John looked out of the window and pondered what she said. "Good luck," she whispered sarcastically and when he turned back the quarian was nowhere to be found.

"You too," he said to nothingness. John then returned to the receptionist and checked himself in again.

Before he could enter the elevator he was stopped again, this time by the asari. "Try not to start another war in there human, I have enough paperwork as it is."

Though John was slightly elevated before with that electric buzz he had felt, he now felt slightly deflated. Even the turians on the ship didn't act so hostile to him. And the first quarian he met was another kick in the gut, providing him a sense of achievement then sending him back down again with her comment about all of the species hating him. It wasn't him exactly, but as one of the first human C-Sec officers he was a representative of his people and his family.

His dad always wanted to get him in to politics. Now John knew why he always hated the idea.

He grinned at the asari's joke; at least he thought it was a joke with that long, droned voice. Maybe he had cast a good opinion after all. Though one colleague was not going to get him through in one piece.


	3. Chapter 3-Tackling the Challenges

**A/N: There we go, finally done with this chapter. Have to hate that writer's block.**

**Thank you for the reviews, whilst it may not seem much, it does give me a push to become more sleep-deprived as I start to brainstorm ideas and get these things written.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

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The elevator ride took longer than it should have done. it stopped few times on the way down, but when they saw a human standing inside they looked at him with disgust and walked off. He was expecting such a reception when he set off from Earth. Just seeing it was a little off-putting.

He needed to find out why they felt like this though. The turians were understandable, they were in a war. Everyone else seemed to have no other motive apart from the fact he was a 'lesser' species.

That quarian was a strange one too. She seemed to be in the same situation as John but was used to everything that was said or done to her. What he would give for strength like that.

The elevator then beeped. _Level 21: C-Sec Academy_

The silver doors then opened and John saw the bustling activity of the Academy. Salarians, turians and asari all talked and hung around the carefully constructed gardens at the front of the building. They weren't gardens as such, more rectangular and square blocks with flowers and plants placed inside.

He took a moment to collect himself before straightening his cap and striding out of the elevator. He kept looking forward, right at the entrance of the building. The glass entrance was centred between chrome curves and spires that reached far into the Citadel.

As he passed through the courtyard all eyes were on him. Now only the whistle of the cars above filled the area as the conversation and bustling stopped. He paid no attention to them, just the entrance. He felt confident, worthy.

The eyes followed him all the way to the entrance where he opened the door without hesitance. He was then taken aback by all of the people who bustled and walked around. They were too busy dealing with their own problems to draw any attention to John, so he continued on, to the main desk which meekly sat in the middle of the large structure.

He squeezed his way through a line of civilians and stopped at the desk. Another asari was there to greet him, she however looked confused, worried and tired all at the same time. "Wait in the line!" She shrieked to one of the civilians, causing John to flinch. Her head traced past John and to another computer monitor. "You can handle it they said, it's no problem they said..." She murmured as her hands flailed around the desk.

An older asari then walked behind the desk. and tapped the other one on the shoulder. "What's going on here?" She impatiently asked. The tired one tried to stammer a response through her panic. "Never mind, tend to this..." Her eyes scanned John. "Human thing. Now."

The young asari then looked at John. "Hi, there!"

John rested on the counter. "Hey... Bad day at the office?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't really work behind the desk, they said it was good experience to have if I want to become a director." John looked at her and her shaking figure. She really wasn't cut out for this. The asari probably forgot what she was doing.

"So, your into films?"

She giggled sightly. "Oh no, nothing like that. It's a post here at C-Sec. I'm hoping to plan operations and scenarios for squads and direct them during operations." Her eyes then widened. "WAIT! Forget all of that, please! You're not part of C-Sec and I'd really like to keep my place here." She then placed a weak hand on her forehead. "Oh, Goddess."

John chuckled. "It's no problem, I'm initiating too."

Her eyes then somehow managed to widen further, probably an asari thing. "You-your that human, aren't you?" John nodded. "Oh then that... I should be showing you where to go then!"

"That would be appreciated," he said, with a smile. The girls' strange nature had gotten to him.

"Well then, hu-"

"It's John, John Stone." He held out his hand, ready to get a handshake, but it never came. He looked back up to the asari, who in turn looked at his hand strangely. "Don't tell me you don't know what a handshake is now." Her silence confirmed his suspicions. He then took one of her loose hands by force and held it there.

She then became a little flustered as her peer watched the event unfold. "Wha-What are you doing?!" She stammered.

John smirked and shook her rigid hand as best he could, then he released his grasp. "There we go. Just a simple handshake. You better get used to that."

For minutes she offered no reply; just looking at her hand and repeating the motion to thin air. "Naireen."

"Huh?"

"My name is Naireen. A pleasure to meet you, Stone." She now spoke with a new found confidence. "If you would like to follow me, I will show you to the initiation area."

Naireen then went to guide John through mazes of corridors and rooms, all leading to a central point. A large chamber decorated with statues of some of the most prestigious officers Citadel Security has ever had. Behind a large stand lay a waterfall where the graves of said officers lay. And it was here meetings were held and potential officers were initiated into the academy. It was currently empty, bar a few officers posted on the guard and tourists taking pictures of their idols immortalised in stone.

John had to take a second and stop the speechless tour. Naireen looked back at him. "Amazing, isn't it?" She joined him observing the large hall. "The best of the best are laid to rest here. And the new legends are made here as well."

She looked over to John who laughed under his breath. "All of them are turian, except that one." He nodded to a salarian statue on the right of the hall.

"You have something against them?" She asked with reasonable concern, especially since the turians made up at least three quarters of the force.

"No, it's just that through out all of the years you'd expect more than just them to be up there."

"Well, they are the best."

"No doubt, but I don't see any asari up there either." He looked over to Naireen with a smirk. "Seems like favouritism to me."

She looked at the statues and saw some truth in his words. Her species was the first on the council and the most intelligent race, why didn't they have a statue up there? "Maybe...

"Let's get on with it then, shall we? We've still got a bit of a way to go," she set off again and John was forced to follow in fear he would get lost.

As they drew closer to their destination she began explaining what would happen when he got there: "You'll need to pass some tests, we can't just let someone with the skills of a volus to walk in now, could we? This will probably take all day. Then there is the issue of getting you some overnight accommodation in case you pass." She stopped and turned to look at him, opening up her omni-tool. "If you do, you'll be notified, then you attend a service held in the main hall." The door behind Naireen opened and she closed her tool. "Well, John, good luck. I think you may need it."

She then held out her hand. John smiled and shook it. "Thanks Naireen. I'll be back tomorrow." John made a last sincere nod and walked inside the room.

It was not as packed as John expected it to be; a few turians stood in one corner and other groups of turians and salarians were scattered around. Three asari stood together looking at orange screens on their omni-tools.

That was when John finally felt out of place from the rest of the species on the Citadel. He stood there, alone. He was far away from those who would understand him, yet a salarian caught his eye when he saw it walking towards him. The salarian waved and John looked behind him to see if there was anyone else entering.

Was the salarian waving at him?

It was made apparent when the salarian stopped just short of John and started to eye him suspiciously with his big saucers for eyes. "Hmm, human. Interesting, yes." John just frowned in confusion and the salarian moved closer. "Tell me, human, where does your heart function from?" He spoke rapidly and without pause.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry I forgot I was talking to a human. I... will... talk... slower. No, no, no. How can other species go so slow? Need to keep this going. Time short."

John raised his hand. "No need, I'll be on my way."

He almost got past when the salarian stopped him with his long arm. "Wait, human, what is your name?"

John sighed, only a few seconds of conversation got him frustrated. "John Stone. Yours?"

"Silas Solus." He then smiled and nodded his head. John was still confused and tried to walk away again. "Stone? Wouldn't you want to know what we are doing in the tests?"

_Damn salarian, I just want to get this done with._ "Yeah, sure," he said with drollness.

"Well, first is the fitness test. Then the shooting test. Then there is the assault course."

All of those seemed normal to John, all except the assault course part. Why would they need to practice that on the Citadel? It was all mainly flat ground. "And all that determines whether or not we get in?"

"Ha ha ha, of course not, not really. It just tests us to see whether we have the capacity to carry on with everything. The academy really isn't that much different." Silas stated it so matter-of-factly that John couldn't help but get annoyed at. It was easy for him to say and do, but John had to better than all of them if he wanted to get in. He was against the odds.

_"Applicants, the tests will now begin. If you succeed you will have shown that you have the metal to be Citadel Security. If you don't then you should have never set foot in this room or on the Citadel. Many of you are outsiders who have never been on the Citadel before, I'm expecting you to fail. Prove me wrong."_

The three asari who were in the corner before stood up to the crowd of now anticipating applicants. The one in the middle made herself known with a voice that carried more authority than her gentile figure. "Okay, listen up! This is the boring part, but we have to get it done first. I want salarians on one side of the room and turians on the other." She waited impatiently for a few seconds whilst everybody shuffled around, getting into their allocated places.

When they were done, she continued. "Turians, you will follow officer Thaetra to your examination. Salarians, you will follow officer Arail to yours. Understand?" Everyone one nodded, some more confident than others. "Okay then, let's get this under way then."

The two designated lines shuffled into two separate doors located on either side of the room. A few cast awkward glances at the only person left in the room, who stood silently, waiting. Silas gave a nod to John and he returned it just before the salarian disappeared through the doors.

John then turned his attention back to the apparently angry asari who glared daggers at him. "And I'm stuck with you," she sneered and walked up to him.

She stood an inch taller and had a dark blue skin tone that gradually grew lighter on her scalp. John found himself being eyed up and down again: examined. "I doubt you will succeed, but as you are an official applicant, then I'll have to see you to our new human scanning room that cost around one million credits to make."

She turned away and swiftly walked to the back of the room. What John thought was the centre of the activities now proved to be just another hub room. It was no longer impressive any more, it was just plain annoying.

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A couple of minutes of walking and John was led to the medical examination room. At the far end of the small room was a treadmill, and in the centre a black circle with a blue-glowing ring of light around it. Then there was the one-way glass where the asari officer and an old human doctor stood behind, ready to instruct him on what to do next. "John, would you please stand on the circle in front of you?" The doctor softly asked.

He obliged and slowly approached the circle. Standing right in the centre activated a blue cylinder of grid-like squares to arise from the periphery of the circle. John looked and turned as it enveloped him, his eyes flicking at the blue dots and squares flashing on his arms and torso. "Mr. Stone, it is easier for the scan to finish if you stand still."

It took him a little bit of time to respond, but when he did the process did go much quicker on the operating end. The doctor and the asari were shown a small-scale model of John's muscle and skeletal structure on two separate holo-panels in the operating room. The doctor stroked his small tuft of a grey beard and walked over to a larger monitor placed at the far side of the black room he worked in. It blue light was amplified by the scans and was the only thing that lighted the room.

The asari kept her arms folded. "What do we have doc?" She asked, tapping her foot.

"Well from what these scans show, he has no serious injuries that will affect his health or his performance." He zoomed the image on John's brain. "His cognitive functions are performing normally. He's fine from what the scans show, but we do have to test his actual fitness."

"This better be worth it. This cost us money that could have gone to patrol units."

The doctor walked back over to his main panel and turned the scanner off. "Perhaps... Now, Mr. Stone, will you kindly make your way over to the treadmill please?" Although the doctor was questioned and had his profession insulted he still retained his calm voice. "Make sure you have a firm stance, then I will activate it."

John held the bars at the side and got himself ready. It was like gym all over again. He gave the thumbs-up towards the window and readied himself again. It started easy at first; a nice stroll. Then after a few seconds it was a light jog, then seconds after it was a full run.

He panted at a controlled rate, just as he was taught and practised before. He maintained the run for around ten minutes and the doctor smirked triumphantly at the still seething asari. "Crank it up," she ordered.

John slipped a little when the change of speed kicked in, trying to find the right pace again was difficult and now the lactic acids were starting to build up. Another ten minutes and the asari commanded another crank up. John was now in a fully-fledged sprint, and it was taking its toll.

His breath was irregular, his chest throbbing with pain at very intake of breath. His legs almost faltered until his voice spoke up. _Come on, keep going. You have to. You HAVE to!_ "I'm not going down that easy!" He thought aloud and the asari was a little shocked. He knew she was challenging him. She saw his legs wobble again and smirked. He was going to lose.

Then he sped up.

John pushed his body past the limits it was supposed to and started to out-run the machine. The doctor then started to power down the machine without consent, forcing the asari to action. "What are you doing?!" She grabbed his shoulder.

The doctor gave her a cold stare. "I'm stopping this before he kills himself. I doubt you would be able to run that fast for that long before your body gave way." The machine finally stopped and John was more relived than he had felt in years. The triumphant feeling didn't last when he fell to one knee and held back a little bit of puke. He did it, he still wasn't sure if it was worth the cost.

"Well done Mr. Stone. You can rest now." John let out an exhausted sigh and dropped down to the floor, lying on the treadmill. The asari still gave him her now usual look and the doctor laughed. "He was right, he didn't go down easy."

The asari grunted. "Was it a success?" She snapped before she could be humiliated again.

The doctor gave a warm yet cocky smile. "Yes. He is very fit for a boy his age. And he still has room to improve." He gazed at the newly processed graphs on the large monitor. "He hasn't even finished pu-"

"Doctor!" She shot.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot you officers don't like it when I talk actual science." The doctor then grabbed his files and straightened his uniform, ready to leave. "I believe my work here is done. You will receive a full report by the end of the day."

Then he left, leaving the asari looking rather deflated and defeated. she looked at the limp human and walked out as well, ready to get him moving again.

* * *

John had little time to recover before he was dragged to the shooting range. Many others were there when he arrived, all of them checking the sights on their guns and aiming them right. He was a little nervous about this part more than anything as he had lied when he said he had used a firearm before.

It niggled at the back of his mind, causing even him to doubt himself.

At this point everyone was under the same guide, no longer segregated by species. People who had previously ignored him were now following John up to the last empty spot on the range with their big or small eyes. One of them was especially keen: Silas Solus.

John slowly approached the range and picked up a predator pistol that lay waiting for him. It was heavier than he thought it would be. And colder; much, much colder.

He set his legs in a position he thought right. It was shoulder-width apart and fairly relaxed as were his shoulders. He did not hold the gun, more of a cradle: a soft grip that gave him a better feel of it. That was a strange feeling to John. He had only held the gun for a few minutes and in that time he felt a sort of unknown attachment to it.

He nodded to himself before bringing up the gun in-line with the target in front of him. It looked like a turian outline with several circles and crosses on different points of the body. John slowly teased the trigger back, his finger aching from the slow curling.

The shot then fired.

The frosty chill of the gun's metal was now replaced by a warm sensation of adrenaline, power and fear. It felt good. He fired another shot, then another- the same tingling ringing through his body.

Now it was time for him to try and hit the targets. He took a few shots at the shoulders, then waited for the weapon to cool down before moving on to the legs. He squinted to see if he hit anything, the target however was too far away to show any form of proper impact.

Time for the head. He took aim again and breathed in. For some reason, it helped a lot and when he fired his breath was released with the shot. It felt like a part of him.

Now it was the time of reckoning. He pressed the button which drew the figure closer to him. As the light started to peak through the holes in the paper, eyes widened especially John's accompanied by a well deserved flood of smugness.

Not a single shot missed, not even his practice ones. He saw some turians twitch their mandibles at the sight at reasonable caution; If they were that dummy, they would have been dead. He looked over at a large group of turians staring at him and they shied away like embarrassed children.

Solus placed a hand on the human's shoulder. The salarian felt proud. "You're a good shot human."

"Yeah, I guess I am." His previous doubts were gone, he was good at this. All he wanted to do was fire the gun one more time...

_"Move onto the next area. You will need a partner to team up with," _The voice on the intercom ordered.

Silas' eyes widened and he smirked as he tightened his grip on John's shoulder. "What do you say, human?"

John's face dipped as he figured out what the salarian was getting at, and there was no way he was going to go anywhere with him for another five minutes. Even a few words pushed John near the edge of reason. He grunted and walked away, hoping to find someone else to partner-up with.

* * *

John lined up grimly behind other pairs as a jumpy salarian joined him, obviously eager to continue. "I'm really looking forward to this. Not the exercise part, no, just finding out what capacity your form has to offer."

"Hey, uh, Silas? Do you mind keeping that information to yourself?" He said as the line slowly moved a few more centimetres.

"Stone, I'm an audible learner- I need to talk to learn. No learning, no point."

"I'm starting to wish you were more into books," John muttered before moving forward again. Ahead of him two pairs went head-to-head to try and reach the end of the assault course that faced them. At the start was a basic evasion test as walls and non-lethal tech bursts flew towards the challengers. If they made it past that they had to crawl through small, metal tunnels that apparently a Keeper could fit through.

Then there were the monkey bars. And finally the most dreaded part of the course. The water.

A deep pool lay below several balance beams, nets and wire which had struck fear into all of the turians who had participated. John managed to find a few who had fallen in and saw their thrashing response to drowning. They were fished out, after a time; just enough to make them feel like they were about to die.

Most succeeded, the ones who did not were shown the exit and forced to leave forever. John feared he may be one of them. He was never really an extreme fitness nut.

His partner seemed more enthusiastic however. He kept bouncing on his springy feet and shaking his hands. At least he was not talking as much as he did before. "Next up: John Stone and Silas Solus," a turian announcer called before stepping aside and letting them continue.

A glass wall separated the two opposing teams and John stole a quick look at his opponents. Turians. And they looked serious; their beady eyes locked on the course ahead of them. As Silas bounced back and forth he muttered and talked to himself, something John had learnt to block out in his short time knowing him.

John then saw the course in its entirety. It was... Bigger than he expected it to be from the back of the line. No wonder some failed. He leant over to Silas. "Are you sure we can do this?" He whispered, making sure the turian announcer couldn't hear.

"Don't worry about it, human. I may have been good at science, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve." The salarian smiled.

"Great," John sneered with a roll of his eyes.

"Ready?" They both nodded. "Start!"

The duo set off and instantly the walls behind them closed followed quickly by a barrage of tech bursts and rolling walls coming in their direction. As John looked back from the doors behind him he was startled to see a low wall going straight for his legs. His eyes widened and he leaped as high as he could, narrowly skimming his toe against it.

He looked for his partner but saw him effortlessly twisting around balls of flying electricity and leaping over walls as if it was a large step. Determined to catch up, John tried the same techniques only to be hit in the shoulder by a large volt of electricity. That sent him to the ground. Then another wall was sent towards him, making him roll backwards and forcing back up onto his feet to continue.

He side-stepped another tech burst and dive-rolled over another wall, swiftly recovering and running to the tunnels. Solus was waiting for him there as no one person could advance before the partner arrived. His foot tapped the floor before the wall blocking their advance lifted.

The salarian swiftly dove to the floor and made his way under the tunnels. John turned to the glass wall and saw the turians ready to approach the monkey bars and decided it was time to press on. Feeling a little exhausted, the tunnel crawl was made that much harder as the small space forced his muscles to tense in awkward places.

How the things known as 'keepers' managed to fit through these things was a mystery to the human. Regardless, he had to press on whilst the confines of the tunnel seemed to shrink.

As the light at the end of the tunnel grew larger after a few minutes of difficult squirming John saw an extremely impatient alien staring at him. Silas did move before he exited the tunnels and brushed himself off. "I expected a little more, human. Come on, we still have more to go."

John seethed and went for the next challenge with a full sprint. _He wants to see what I'm made of, fine._ John leapt onto the first bar before Silas for once and wasted no time in advancing. His aching arms from the tunnels did not hinder him as he went from one bar to the other with no pauses for recovery. That was his secret when he was a kid, if he slowed down he would fall.

John finished the last bar by swinging off with his momentum, leaving Silas to play catch-up. The salarian's sunny disposition returned when the human had beaten him for once. "May I ask how you pulled it off?"

John smirked. "Human secret. Maybe later." Temptation of competition then pulled hi back over to the two other turians. They were struggling half-way across the water obstacle, their feet and hands not sure what to grab for support. John then noticed his advantage of the powerful bird-aliens. "Silas, can you swim?"

The salarian laughed mockingly. "Can I swim? He says, Ha! I'm an amphibian."

John shook his head, confused. "And that means?"

Silas' face became straight and deadly serious. "Yes, I can."

Stone then twitched his eyebrows to the pool. "Then let's take a dive, shall we?" And without any approval he leapt in with a dive that could impress Olympian judges. He then started to front-crawl all the way to the finish line, confident of victory. Silas soon caught up as well and as they passed the turians they were locked in a _friendly_ competition of swimming.

It ended as a draw, as far as they could tell, but they both savoured victory and success as they climbed out of the pool and across the finish line, laughing at the fumbling turians who had just fallen in the water. "I have to say, Stone, I would have never thought of that one."

He shrugged cockily, finally happy he out-witted the obnoxious salarian. "Well, when you have a whole galaxy to impress, you get a sense of your surroundings after a while," he said through heavy panting. It was going to hurt tomorrow.

"That made no sense. At all."

"Ah, well." Then they both shared another laugh.

* * *

After washing up, John and most of the other applicants were leaving, all of them anxious for the result that would come some time later that night. He was alone, Silas saying his good-byes and leaving some time ago; apparently salarians didn't take that long to recover.

He couldn't help but smile at that alien. _Dammit, I think he's all right. _He hated the idea of being friends with that guy, but something about his attitude reminded him a bit of himself.

Now John had to wait as well; a lone human wandering the wards at night.

Time to kick back and relax. And if everything went through, he would have the soft bosom of alcohol to fall back into.


	4. Chapter 4-Down There

Though he was not slumming it out just yet the upper wards were enough to keep him lively and on his toes. There were restaurants than there were bars, something that made the whole experience... happier. He could not describe it; the whole feeling just reminded him of the home he had left behind. And the new one he had hopefully gained. That was the problem, the uncertainty of the whole thing.

His job, hell, his life rested on a wire thinner than the air itself and it shrunk every second he was on the Citadel. That was what made him uneasy, not the glares. John's stomach then viciously growled, reminding him that not 5 hours ago did he throw up all over the cargo hold of a ship. The sight of restaurants now made him more happier than he was before.

He had one-hundred-and-fifty credits to his name. He would actually get paid for being in the academy, that was what he planned on and he had so much faith in himself, he believed that he would last through the night. But now, after taking in the surroundings, things looked a little bit more expensive than he had planned.

A fairly small restaurant caught his eye; it wasn't flash, it was simple and most importantly: it looked cheap. Yellow seemed to be its theme and it showed the closer he got. Twin lines of yellow light wound around the walls and carried some measure of warmth with them. The main body was set out like an old, humble motorway diner. The kind that was open 24 hours and showed on its 'enthusiastic' employees. He took a step inside, enticed and tranced by the smell of food. John couldn't have put a name to it even if he wanted too. It smelt like eggs and bacon, but knowing the alien cuisine it would be something completely different.

His stomach growled again, begging for food. He patted it, giving it some comfort. A voice then caught him by surprise and he jumped slightly. He turned to see a familiar blue asari, making him smirk and putting on his cool again. "Naireen. I told you I'd see you tomorrow."

She smiled and leant back. She seemed more relaxed than she did before. "Well you should have thought about that when you walked into _my_ favourite food place," Naireen remarked. She _was_ different.

John had to admit, he like the change thus far. "So, you come here often?" He smirked.

"Oh, Goddess your pathetic!" She stated, laughing. "Is this some kind of pick-up attempt?"

He did not let the little tug on his mouth fade. "I just thought it was a conversation starter," his voice couldn't be any more smarmier.

"Hmm hmm," she hummed unconvincingly. She guided him to her favourite spot, right in the corner where the wall lights met. She sat down on one bench and waved her hand to the other. "Take a seat."

It didn't sound like an order, but the way she said it guided his body down and into a relaxed position as he sunk into the hard fabric. It had been a while since he had sat on anything so... soft. It felt good. He couldn't help but verbalise the pleasure he got with a fading sigh and a closing of his eyes. "Hey, don't get too comfortable. These guys don't close, but they don't like people taking advantage of that either."

His eyes shot open when he realised that he almost dosed off for a second. John still didn't drop his cool through his heated cheeks, though it did catch Naireen's attention. He saw her gawking at him and looked behind him a couple of times. "What? Is there a bug on me?"

"No. Your..." She touched her cheek to get her point across.

John sank back and chuckled. "My cheeks? Yeah, they tend to do that." Something about her awed curiosity just sent a pulse through his body. The same happened with the quarian. It wasn't the attraction, no he had not even thought about that yet. It was the attention he got, the way they would inspect every inch of him until they had to finally ask when they could not piece it together themselves. They were actually _interested_ in a lowly, normal human like himself. His stomach growled again and he embarrassingly put his hands over it to cover the noise.

"You're hungry?" She asked with curiosity, wondering if humans even got hungry.

"No, I just came into a nice little diner to take in the sights." The sarcasm could not be any more punctuated. She slid a menu over the table and silently watched him as he brought it up to his face. She eyed his constantly changing eyebrows, unsure of what that 'hair' signified. He put the menu down and she was shocked to see him disappointed; The Fading Star had her favourite food, how did he not like the menu? Finally he quenched her thoughts. "I have no idea what any of this is," he said with a blank face.

"Good, I thought that you hated the food. So.. how about I recommend something for you?"

"That sounds like a good idea. Though, it would be best if I got the cheapest thing." He pulled out the lining of his pockets "I haven't got much on me." She smiled and picked up the menu. She had memorised it easily over the months she had been to the diner and she could proudly recall all of the options, it was still reassuring to see it in front of her. John saw Naireen focus on one of the courses. "And make sure it doesn't taste bad." He had to say it, he was a little scared of new food.

Her eyes then moved to something else and John sighed inwards into himself. "There, that should do!"

"What is it?" He eyed her excitement with suspicion.

"Deep grilled loama. It's delicious and it's cheap: only five credits." She then signalled over one of the waiters and the asari approached with a smile.

"What can I get you, Naireen?" She couldn't be any more happy to see her.

"I'll have the usual, if you don't mind."

The waitress then saw that Naireen had company and she swerved to the human with a completely different look. "And you?" She snapped, somehow impatient after two seconds of looking at him.

He brushed her scowling face to one side. "I'll have the deep grilled loama?" He looked to Naireen for support and she nodded.

The waitress labelled it down on her data-pad. "That will be thirty credits."

"Thirty?!" John exclaimed in disbelief. He looked at Naireen, who shared his look then back at the waitress to see if she was joking. Her reaction proved she wasn't. He looked down at the table, restraining his thoughts and feelings. He wanted to act the exact opposite she wanted him to. "Oh... I'll just eat somewhere else then."

John got up to leave when Naireen grabbed his arm. "It's okay, I'll pay for it." This shocked the waitress and John before he sat back down and watched the two asari exchange different looks, fighting a silent battle. Naireen finally broke the silence. "So, thirty credits?"

She knew it twisted the other asari's head and she like it. She liked the fact she would have to pay extra, because if not, she would have been charging for no reason other than to spite a human. "Yes..." She spat and walked away with a stomp.

John's gaze fell from the asari in front of him and back down onto the table, ashamed. "You didn't have to do that."

She scoffed, insulted by his sincerity. "I did. It says five credits here, and It'll be five credits for anybody who walks in this place." She looked to him still hanging his head. "I have to work with different species in my field. All of the work is spread evenly; if someone is burdened with too much work, the others aren't treating them as an equal. That's what this galaxy needs more than anything."

John had to look at her when she mentioned equality. It was something so simple to imagine, but to actually enforce was harder than fighting any war, even if it was against a genocidal race of advanced network AI, it would be impossible to do. _Why would I think of that as an example?_ He asked himself before retuning his attention back to the asari in front of him.

"Well in that case, thank you."

The rest of the dinner went uneventfully; after both had gotten their meals they ate, talked about C-Sec and not much else. The waitress had learned to stay away and John was left to feel her eyes trying to burrow into his head. It did unnerve him, but the asari in front of him was making it all easier to get along with.

Naireen pushed her plate away with a dragged exhale and a pat of her stomach. "Well, that's me, I'm full."

John did the same and leaned back on the chair. "Me too. I never knew that asari food could be so..." Naireen began to examine his next words, making him reconsider what he was going to say. _Strange_ "Filling," he lied, in a sense. It was filling, just seemed weird.

"Good. My goodness, look at the time!" She stood up and got ready to leave. "I've got to be in early tomorrow and it's already late."

"I'll follow you out, though I'm not planning to go to sleep just yet."

"Oh, checking out the night life I assume?"

He nodded and followed her to the door stopping just short and allowing her to pass. "Ladies first," he said courteously.

"Why thank you."

He put his hands up. "No need. I would ask if you did that back on Thessia, but I guess you guys would be at a door forever if you followed the same code."

She laughed with a slight unease, not exactly sure what John was getting at. Naireen then walked away, swinging her hips side to side. "See you around, John," she teased almost seductively and John could not help but stare with a stupid smile on his face until she got in her shuttle and left. _Wow_ he mouthed before going up to the nearest Avina terminal.

"Hello, [John Stone], is there anything I can help you with?" Its automated voice was calm, yet annoying. John definitely could not stay there and have a two minute conversation with it even if he was deaf.

"How can I get to the lower wards from here?"

"If you follow the signs located behind you, you will find an elevator that will bring you to the lower wards. The lower wards contain the bulk of the Citadel's night life and hotels and apartments. Would you like a travel advisory sent to your omni-tool?"

John felt a little bit ashamed that he did not own an omni-tool yet as everything in modern civilisation seemed to need one. "I'm fine, thanks." He then quickly walked away, unwilling to let the stupid VI continue talking. This was the part John was feeling the most exited about, even if he may not be able to remember to remember it the next day.

* * *

The heavy thumps of music could be heard as soon as John entered the lower wards. Where artificial light was once, darkness illuminated by soft red glows and multicoloured signs replaced it. John was surprised to see a couple of humans as he walked down one of the main streets of the wards. Groups of aliens were scattered around, as were the clubs.

Landing pads for cars were in abundance throughout and many flew above with their soft hum, harmoniously in tune with the music of the clubs. He finally chose a club with the sign 'Happy Hour' on the outside. As he approached he could feel the vibrations go through his feet. That made him more giddy than he was before.

As he passed, two turians who stood as bodyguards brought their omni-tools up as a radio and watched the human enter through the entrance of the club. When the doors opened, John's eyes widened and a goofy smile spread across his lips. The sounds were no longer muffled. The energy was no longer blocked; it was all in front of him.

All sorts of different races were either dancing or drinking, except humans. And since this certain club was a more respectable one, there were no dancers or poles, though the service did come with a skimpy outfit that did not leave much to the imagination. As he observed, slowly making his way to the bar, John did not feel as pressured as he had done when he was simply walking around the Citadel. This was mainly due to the patrons being more focused on other things than a new species roaming the space station.

He took a place next to a turian at the bar and cleared his throat to get the barman's attention. He turned from the shelves of drink canisters and glasses and focused on John. "Human." The word could not be any more flat.

"What do you have?"

"Drinks."

John released an exasperated breath. "What type of drinks? I hear it's happy hour."

The turian leaned on to the bar and brought himself face-to-face with John. "It just finished," he said with a menacing undertone.

John checked his watch, which was set to Citadel time. "Says here that you're half way through it."

"Well I _said_, it's _over_."

John frowned: a weird expression for the turian as he did not seem to heed the warning. "What's your problem?" He asked, annoyed.

"I'm stating the facts, human. It ended, you can even check the sign outside." The turian retreated back and folded his arms. "If you want a drink, that'll be twenty creds."

John's frustration did not falter, in fact it rose until he was about to lash out. He then realised all of the people looking at him practically half-mounting the bar with clenched fists and a scowl on his face. _I have to keep the example_. John backed off, but did not lose his frown. "I'm fine, thanks," he said through clenched teeth and then he walked away, not looking back at the stares. He didn't have the time.

When he left, he looked at the sign which now just held the martini-shaped glass for its logo, instead of the deal that was on previously. It was a little bit crushing to see, but it gave the turian some ammunition if he stormed back in there for no reason.

He did try to enter different places, but many refused him at the door saying that 'he wouldn't have the credits' to spend in such a fine establishment. He even heard one guard call him filth as he walked away and another started to disinfect the spot where he stood. That _made_ John feel poor and worthless. It _made_ him feel dirty and unclean. The question he asked himself was _why_ he was treated this way. The diplomats and representatives who were sent to Earth seemed to be pleasant and accepting enough, though it probably was their job keeping them there. Inside John thought they were writhing, begging to leave the filthy planet and its wretched inhabitants behind.

But they couldn't go, so instead they plastered on a smile and talked with their soft, deceitful voices making sure that they could open the humans up to the rest of the galaxy where they would be punished, annihilated and left to fade away in the bleak history of the universe. John started to curse them too, now that the idea was in his head. They were all liars: the diplomats who offered him the chance. His father who persuaded him to go with the promise of a 'better life'. Looking around, he supposed it was a better life to have, if one could face the hate and the anger and push through it to win.

Wandering down the wards left him more exhausted than he thought. That meant it was phase three of the night. Sleep.

* * *

Hotels were easy to find. Cheap ones were a whole other matter. The cheapest he found was one-hundred-and-forty credits for one night, leaving him with nothing for the morning afterwards, especially since Naireen was no longer there to get the waitress to charge normal prices. His never-ending search through the increasingly busy wards were string to take their toll. John felt weary, his feet tripping over themselves every now and then.

One could have easily mistaken him for a drunk if it wasn't for his lack of alcohol-smelling breath. As his eyes started to droop, the weakening effects of throwing up finally catching up to him, he stumbled into an asari and turian couple. At first he felt numb so his apology was a long time coming. "Sorry," he snapped, making himself more attentive in the process.

The turian shook his head and growled at the human for ruining his night. The asari put on a face that could only be described as motherly. "Don't do that Opus, look at him, he's confused." John's eyes flicked around as if they were responding to his question. "See?" She talked to John as if he was a baby: something the asari probably saw his race as.

His tiredness got the better of him. "What's the deal, huh? Am I too stupid to work things out for myself, because I guess I am in your eyes!" He lashed.

"Oh my! He's feral!" The asari clung onto her boyfriend and put a hand up to her mouth - similar to a typical damsel in distress.

"Listen, hu-"

"To hell with you!" John shouted and pushed past the turian in rage. Walking away, he heard the asari mumble something to Opus which eventually stopped the growling and got them to move on. _Stupid aliens. Condescending jackasses._ Curse upon curse flew around his head as he regretfully stomped up to an Avina terminal to ask for help.

"Hello [John Stone] how may I help you today?"

"How about you make yourself useful and find me a cheap place to stay." His body was now in full control after his mind started to shut down.

"Certainly. Searching... The Hovel is a cheap one-night-stay hotel that provides adequate housing for the on-the-go types like yourself."

"Location," he asked impatiently.

"It is located behind this terminal, no more than [twelve metres] away. Is there-"

The machine was given no time to finish as John walked away from it, effectively shutting it off for a new user to approach. At least the terminal was accurate with its distances as John was there in no time. A quick glance around his surroundings proved why The Hovel was a cheap place to stay: the lights were dim and infrequent and the reach of the media was slowly starting to fade away to nothing more than automated news screens.

The inside of the hotel was no different than its outside. A few extranet terminals stood around and poorly-fitted lights hung from the ceiling. What amazed John was that the lights were actually hanging and not fitted into the confines of the room. A few people hung around, sitting on slightly worn-down metal tables and chairs whilst most took up their residence upstairs.

The main desk was nothing more than a quick and shoddy job, a last minute addition after the workers added onto the plans. Though it still was a quick fix job, it still was the most clean part of the place; its walls did not have a brown tint or black stains on them. A salarian was working the front desk, leaning back on his chair with what John could only describe as a cigarette in his mouth and a half-full bottle of alcohol next to a couple of data-pads. His eyes widened at the sight of John and he coolly pulled the cigarette out of his mouth before getting up and going to the desk to meet him.

John nodded and followed the cigarette as it was thrust down onto the metal to extinguish it. "Lookin' for a place to stay."

His sly voice sent shivers down John's spine. For once, he wanted to hear Silas speak in his curious and demanding tone instead of listening to this other salarian. Even his eyes were unsettling with their spotted edges. _Okay, have to think straight now._ John readjusted himself and shook his head. "Y-yes. How much?"

"It'll set you back a hundred-and-twenty creds, if you wanna stay." The salarian leant on the desk, getting closer to John's ear with a mischievous grin. "But for you, I'll knock off twenty."

It sounded suspicious and John was about to walk away until his body demanded rest again. Not having enough time to ponder, he glanced at the data-pad the salarian slid out from under the desk and took it. "What's this?"

"If you wanna stay, you have to sign that first. It's just a guarantee that you won't damage anything whilst you stay with us."

_If I could damage anything else._ "Okay," he agreed and signed the pad before handing it back to the clerk. "Can I go up now?"

"Thank you for your charity. I'm sure the hundred-and-thirty credits you just donated to this fine establishment will be used responsibly," he said victoriously.

John's mouth dropped and he checked his bank balance. He had twenty credits left on his chit. He inwardly swore at his mistake. "But what about my room? I only signed the guarantee."

"You should've read the small print."

_Fuck you_. Another blow. There was no way he could get the money back, even if he tried. There were many rules on the Citadel that John did not understand, but signing for something was the same everywhere: no take-backs. "I'll be going then." Why was he so weak? All he wanted was a room to sleep in, but he was duped. He laughed at his earlier question he asked himself earlier: _What crime could be on the Citadel?_ Daylight robbery was one.

Everything was going so well at the start. Now all he had to do was wait through the night until he got the bad news. That was what it was now - no good news, just bad. After he left The Hovel, his optimism was crushed. Now he was truly homeless on the biggest space station in the galaxy, if that was even possible.

He continued down the dimmed avenue and found a quiet spot to sit down in, only illuminated by the streaks of purple and blue from the Widow System's cosmic dust and stars. John no longer felt tired, now he was angry, ashamed. Ashamed of himself; the way he snapped at the asari, the way he let his guard down and gave into his bodies wishes for sleep. All of it.

He was even ashamed to be human.

Light footsteps only just reached his ears and he was ready to stand until a three-fingered hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a familiar blue mask hiding a mischievous quarian, her white eyes wandering around the human below her. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the gallant hero." John grunted and looked away from her. He was not in the mood for it. She quickly sat down next to him, hiding a bottle behind her back. "So what brings you down here in the dumps?"

"Bad day," he said, still looking at the ground.

"Tell me about it. I've had my credits stolen today."

"Me too."

She looked at John again, re-evaluating her tone and body posture into a more relaxed tone. The human was clearly depressed, she thought. "So what was it? Scammers? C-Sec?"

"Scammers," he confirmed. John now looked at her as she thought about it. "I thought it was going to go so well. Like a vid where the protagonist just strolls through everything."

"I would laugh, but I felt the same a couple of months ago. They make it look so easy, then you end up here. Rock bottom." The change in her voice made John feel guilty. He changed her somehow.

"Well at least you got a couple of months head start."

"Yeah..." An awkward silence set in, only to be broken by the beeping on John's messenger.

_John Stone, you have been accepted as an official student at C-Sec Academy. You must attend a service tomorrow at 09:00 to validate your application._ _Congratulations._

"What was it?" John sat there for a couple of seconds as the quarian tried to get a sneak-peak at his message. To be honest, he didn't know what it was or how to react to it. It secured his place on the Citadel for at least two years, but he wasn't happy about it. It would mean to years of what he had to go through in one night; he couldn't imagine repeating it again, not after how it made him feel. What should have been excitement was nothing but a dull acceptance that he has fulfilled one of his dreams.

"It was C-Sec. I'm in." His own dull voice surprised both him and the quarian next to him. Though it did mirror his thoughts.

The quarian then revealed the bottle from behind her back. "Well, on behalf of Nora Nar Qwib Qwib, I congratulate you."

John eyed the bottle as she held it out, but could not get one question out of his head. "Qwib Qwib?"

"Just take the damn drink," she said with a thrust of the bottle into his chest.

He grabbed it but a laugh started to crack through. "Qwib Qwib?"

"It was my birth ship. If you have a problem with that then I'll take the drink back."

His chuckles died away out of respect but it had left a smile as a stain. "Sorry, Nora. Thank you." A thought then struck him. "I thought you said you have no money? How could you afford this?"

He could see the faint hints of a smirk under the misty blue of her mask. "Let's just say that it was going to waste in the quarter master's fridge. So I relieved it from him."

"So you are a thief." He quickly followed his statement with a quick swig of the batarian whisky. "And a damn good one. I'm sure he'll miss this."

"Ah well. Why should he have nice things?"

John nodded and took another swig. It was a different kind of texture than normal whisky. This one had more of a kick than a small punch that left a nice after taste. He joined Nora in looking out of the observation window that made itself so prevalent in the room. "Nora. Can I ask you a question?" She nodded, still fixed on the scenery. "Why do others act so..." John struggled to find the words. "Devious to people like you and me?"

"You want the easy answer or the long one?" John then realised her flashing light every time she talked and found him self watching it, waiting for it to blink again.

"Easy."

"We are different from them." That answer knocked off his fascination from her mask. "That's the only reason. I'm a suit rat," she looked to John. "And you're a primal human."

"Primal? Is that what you think of me, us?"

"Me personally, no. Others do because you started a war at first contact. Others think you are less intelligent if you rush straight into a war." Her answer did reflect most, if not all of the opinions on the Citadel. "But I have learnt to ignore them. And so should you."

John's brow furrowed as he thought of what she said. _He's feral!_... _Filth..._ The words echoed in his mind. He was the most dominant species on his planet, but now humanity had to start al over again and prove themselves to be something more. "Well, thanks for the advice."

"No problem. Now if you will excuse me, I have to sleep."

She was quick and agile in getting up, even to the point John's tired reflexes couldn't catch up. "Wait!" Nora turned and watched him shakily stand. "I need a place to stay. A shelter, perhaps?"

"You can't stay at the one I'm at." John's face dropped. "But there is a joint asari/salarian shelter not too far from mine. I can show you there." _But what if-_ "And you don't have to worry about discrimination, all of them are like you down there," she said, answering his question as if she could read his mind.

The words 'down there' couldn't be shaken from him. That was where he was on this station: 'down there' with the castaways and lonely travellers left to rot by 'higher' people on the Citadel. John gave a nod, evaluating that it was the only option he had left for the night. "Follow me then." She waved her hand and John followed, his body craving for a rest.

* * *

No small talk was made as he and Nora made their way to the shelters; it was an agreed silence created by concentration and weariness. They both stopped at the entrance to the asari/salarian shelter. "This is it. Just go in and give them your name. You'll be set up for the night."

John reached into his pocket and pulled out his credit chit. "Thank you, for all of this," he said, placing what little money he had left in her hands.

She looked down. Whether she was shocked, John could not tell through the mask, but it was made apparent when she tried to give it back. "I don't need this."

"It's a start to getting you money back. And believe me, it's not much."

"Jo-"

"No. Consider it payment for the drink." He smiled sincerely, hoping she got the message he did not want it back.

"I-Thank you, human." She put the chit away and strolled off, waving as she went. "Goodbye."

John only nodded, his body too tired to do anything else. _Let's get this over with..._ he thought as he entered the shelter for the lowest of the low.

Because now he was officially 'down there'.


End file.
